The 2012 Apertura is upon us, with kickoff coming along at the end of the week. There have been few changes among the players we cover, so there should be few surprises on paper. However, reality often trumps paper.

Oguchi Onyewu and Sporting will hope to keep the pressure on the league leaders with a win in an away game at Académica, while Caleb Patterson-Sewell and Tony Taylor will try to end Atlético's recent skid.

The score read 4-2 in favor of Mexico, following a crippling second half performance by the U.S.'s southern neighbors. After several nearly disastrous performances leading up to the final, two early goals in favor of the Americans was a dream start.